luke, gangs normally get a bad rap in this country but at least the gang of six is getting some good nods today. what's the latest reaction from all the leaders on the hill about this plan and the future of cut, cap and balance? >> reporter: well, thomas, cut, cap and balance passed the house of representatives yesterday. it's expected it will see a senate vote and that is mainly to allow republican members of the senate to have the same type of cover that members of the house received, essentially it's a republican proposal that would cut billions of dollars and trillions over time from the deficit. however, it is unacceptable to a lot of democrats because of the cuts it makes to entitlements. that all being said, after the development from the gang of six yesterday, there seems to be an idea on capitol hill that there's going to be a capitol hill two-step if you will, congressional two-step. what does that mean? look, a lot of folks find the gang of six talks interesting. a lot think there's a lot to work with there. however, in the time left, by august 2nd it's not enough to do everything that is in the gang

of six plan. essentially there's got to be mitty markups, there's massive tax reform, entitlement reform, all types of things that take legislative time. what you're probably going to say is possibly white house meetings and some sort of combination of, all right, we're going to do a variation of this mcdonnell-reid plan that's been in the senate that will extend the debt ceiling up to $1.5 trillion in cuts and extend it $2 trillion dollars. however, it would be tied to any additional extension perhaps by december, perhaps my next year would only happen if some of the ideas of the gang of six were acted on and agreed to in a bipartisan manner. there's a lot of moving parts. essentially you'll get a hybrid version of the two and that's what people think have the best chance of having long-term deficit reduction. we don't necessarily know on the reid deal. hear what harry reid had to say on the floor about timing.

>> we in the senate, we can have the greatest ideas in the world. but if they're not accepted in the house, we can't extend the debt ceiling, which we have to do. while we await the word from the speaker, he indicated that he thought it would be appropriate that they get this other thing out of the way first. i look forward to working on this. >> reporter: and harry reid essentially putting the ball in john boehner's court, waiting on what can go through the house republican conference. that most likely will come back in the next week or so. i'm hearing july 30th really the last day next weekend, they want to get this done so it doesn't affect the markets. >> mean while, luke, we have to talk about this nasty spat that has erupted between congressman allen west as well as congresswoman debbie wasserman schultz who also chairs the dnc. explain what's going on between the two of them. they're both from florida. >> reporter: this is amazing. yesterday in the house of representatives, debbie wasserman schultz kind of directed something she said about medicare cuts at

representative allen west, a tea partier from florida. essentially saying that how -- it was unbelievable that he was supportive of the republican cut, cap and balance proposal because it did so much to medicare cuts and medicare is so important to so many south floridian residents of the allen west responded with this e-mail about debbie wasserman schultz saying, quote, you want a personal fight, i am happy to oblige. you are the most vile, unprofessional and despicable member of the united states house of representatives. if you have something to say to me, stop being a coward and say it to my face. otherwise, shut the heck up. that's an e-mail that allen west wanted to go to debbie wasserman schultz. it did. the congresswoman has played it down to a degree through a spokesman saying, quote, i don't think congressman west is upset with the congresswoman but he highlighted that they are trying to balance the budget on the backs of the seniors, children and middle class. that being said, he's already raised $1.2 million for his

campaign next cycle. a very much spirited tea party member of the house of representatives that's going to be in a very contentious re-election fight. >> when you write something like that, they say wait 24 hours before you hit send, but i guess they didn't have that. congresswoman schultz will be a guest today on andrea mitchell reports at 1:00 p.m. eastern time right here on msnbc. some breaking news to pass along. minnesota is back in business. just in the last hour, the state's governor signed a new budget that ends the nation's longest state government shutdown in the past decade. minnesota's government had been shut down since july the 1st, playing off 22,000 state workers. a day after rupert murdoch and his son testified over the phone hacking scandal, parliament shifted its focus to prime minister david cameron.

>> the reply that he sent -- the reply that he sent was cleared in advance by my permanent secretary. >> so cameron took a few rounds of shouting from members of paul meant but he did get his message across. he did get some enthusiasm for his response when he spoke of murdoch's testimony as well. >> everyone can see exactly what he is doing, an attempt to play this for party advantage. the problem has been taking place over many years. the problem is for both our main parties. and the problem is one that the public expects us to stop playing with, but to rise to the occasion and deal with it for the good of the country. >> so where is all of this headed to next? martin fletcher is live in london with the very latest. mart martin, how much in danger is cameron's career? all of us are familiar with the fact that parliament is a very vocal place but this is an extreme example of what takes place when someone is on the chopping block. >> reporter: that's right. it was pretty raucous today but

his career is not really in danger. it's certainly a rough time for the prime minister david cameron and the focus shifted from murdoch to the prime minister today. in the prime minister's case it's about poor judgment at least as far as we know so far and nothing to do with any crimes. david cameron defended himself for hiring a former editor of the "news of the world" as his communications chief, even though coulson may have known about the phone hacking. cameron was advised against hiring him, did it anyway and then coulson had to resign and last week he was arrested. so the bottom line for the leader of the opposition, he said in parliament that cameron was, quote, guilty of a gross error in judgment. cameron said if he had to do it over again, he wouldn't have hired coulson. cameron denied that he or any member of his staff told police to stop the investigation. he said police know they have his total backing wherever the investigation goes, thomas. >> hindsight always being 20/20. martin fletcher in london for

us. martin, thank you. we want to bring in a media writer for bloomberg business week and he joins us from bloomberg headquarters here in new york. fel felix, it's good to have you on. i want to get straight to this. do you think after watching what we saw yesterday did the murdochs help or hurt themselves by the showing that they put on at that hearing yesterday? >> i think they definitely helped themselves in the short term and they got a nice bump in the markets yesterday, the share was up. i think there's still a lot of long-term questions hanging over this question. yesterday it was really interesting. i mean it was a new playbook for them. essentially you had rupert coming out and saying, well, this is a huge company. news of the world where the phone hacking took place is less than 1% of our business, i was largely unaware of it. i think that's an effective strategy to a certain degree but he came across a little bit as being out of touch with what was happening at the company and i think that's only going to raise more questions about, you know, he's 80 years old, is he really

the right guy to be running this company on a day-to-day basis. >> you bring up a great point because that is a question that's being bandied about, one that will rise to the surface after these hearings on what did he really know. how much should a top executive be expected to know about his or her own company and where the responsibility falls. take a listen to rupert murdoch and his take on this issue as he was questioned yesterday. >> mr. murdoch, do you accept that ultimately you are responsible for this whole fiasco? >> no. >> you are not responsible? who is responsible? >> the people that i trusted to run it and then maybe the people they trusted. "news of the world" is less than 1% of our company. i employ 53,000 people around the world. who are proud and great people and distinguished people. >> so, felix, people are left scratching their head thinking is it possible that he didn't know what was going on or is it other than maybe plausible deny

ability, he was more just i don't want to know, just get it done? >> yeah, there's an interesting tug of war going on at this point. here you have scotland yard and the government essentially saying, well, we were misled by news international executives. what you saw yesterday, which was pretty amazing, is you had rupert murdoch and his son james saying actually we were misled. the police report said there was no widespread phone hacking going on at our papers and we had no reason not to believe them. so there's definitely, you know, a little bit of trying to shift responsibility around on all parties. >> all right, so felix, rupert murdoch's wife literally sprang to the forefront when she protected rupert, her husband, from this pie attacker. what do we know about her and did her fierce defense of murdoch help him in this pr war as well as help her and raise her stock in the murdoch family. >> i think that was probably the best thing that happened for them in weeks is that, you know,

wendi looked like she was fiercely protecting her husband, made them look like, you know, they were sort of being unfairly attacked. and i think, you know, it's a fascinating family, and there's all sorts of dynamics going on and everyone is questioning can this family stick together. and, you know, having that physical act and that visual only helps the murdochs. this is a clan that's really going to fight for themselves. >> i was going to say when the chips are down, i want wendi deng in my corner. great to have you on. felix gillette, thank you. the british hacking scandal is making people here in the u.s. concerned for their own personal privacy. at&t, sprint and t-mobile allow subscribers to access their voice mail without entering a pin number. this practice opens them up to the same kind of hacking called caller i.d. spoofing which was used by a british tabloid to access messages of celebs, politicians and others.

how easy is it to break into someone's private phone? >> i would say it's relatively easy and that's the scary thing for people at home. you have to wonder why would someone be a target, why would you want to go after somebody's voice mail. it could be a legal case, it could be a battle between spouses. it could be somebody trying to spy on you to simply trying to harass you. when we talk about this caller i.d. spoofing, what we're talking about is making it look like a call that's coming into your voice mail is your phone whereas it's actually somebody else's phone so it goes directly to your voice mail. you can do that a couple of different ways. by the way, this is no big secret, it's not like i'm telling you something other people can't figure out very easily. but if you have one phone call another phone it creates a busy line. if you use a third phone to call in, it goes directly to the voice mail and if you don't have

a pin, it's very easy to get somebody's voice mail. >> we talked about at&t. how vulnerable are they to getting hacked and do we need to make pin numbers mandatory in order to keep all of our phones safe? >> i think that's something to think about. right now the onus is on the consumer, it's on us to be proactive with our mobile devices to put that pin on there. you think of your smartphone these days. it's really like a small laptop. in my face it's almost as big as a laptop. but you store so much personal information on there that really the companies should be doing more for users, i would say, because they're such an extension of ourselves. because there's such critical information on there. you know, i don't want to single out at&t too much because all of the wireless carriers are aware that this is a problem. but i would say that to the people sitting at home, when you look at your smartphone, remember that that's an increasing target for any hacker or anybody who wants to do harm against you so you've got to think about mobile security, about putting a pin on it, about

putting a lock code on your phone in case you leave it somewhere. this is going to be increasingly, especially if we use our phone for paying for things, it becomes kind of like a wallet. so you've really got to look at this as a big target. >> daniel se berg, great to see you. thanks for your time. the rush is on in new york as thousands of gay couples hope to tie the knot this weekend. we'll talk with the very first same-sex couple that mayor bloomberg is going to marry. that's coming up. will roam the earth. that's seven devices per person. this will change how we work in ways we've never before imagined. what do you need to secure your people, their devices, and your business? a network that can evolve and grow to protect your human network. i love that my daughter's part fish. but when she got asthma, all i could do was worry !

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welcome back, everybody. our new poll shows americans are behind president obama when icomes to getting a big debt deal done. nearly six in ten americans want the mixed package with cuts and revenues to take the biggest dent out of our overall debt.

it's great to have both have you here. ron, i want to start with you. as we're looking at this, especially within the poll, the first poll, we've seen polling for months that says the american people are open to higher taxes on the wealthy and now we have this, saying that a mix of spending cuts and ref news are preferred. do you think in your estimation are republicans starting to get that message on the hill? >> no, i don't think so at all. what we saw last november is that the american people said that the size and scope of government is too much. you had republican governors swept into office, the state legislatures and of course the house of representatives. so i don't think the american people are behind increasing revenues in a recession and i think the american people want compromise. that's what they're looking for in d.c. >> do you think, tara, that president obama has been out in front when it comes to putting everything out on the table allowing for things to be discussed in debt talks? our polling showing exactly what his base wants. do those numbers make it easier for progressive democrats out there to get on board and support real change?

and i'm talking about real entitlement change. >> well, i think the president has done a very good job in term of trying to build consensus and bring about compromise. the reality is you cannot get anything done in washington without some form of compromise. i think what we're seeing in the polling is that most americans want compromise. and i think that's a historic thing in this country. and so i think what you're seeing is they see that the republicans to date have not been willing to compromise as my colleague has made it very clear and the republicans and the democrats are and that's really what people want, the majority of people want. >> isn't the sign of a good compromise when both sides leave a little disgruntled because they're not getting all they want. >> exactly. >> we've heard if the country defaults, the blame in the end will fall on the president. as we take a look at our poll, it shows more of a split with republicans slightly taking more of the blame. do you think -- does this put more pressure on republican members to reach a deal, and a big one, reach a big deal for that matter? >> no.

i think frankly the pressure is on the president of the united states. he has shown such a terrible lack of leadership in this entire debate. tara mentions, of course, that the president has been willing to compromise. i can't thij think of one area where he's shown a willingness to compromise with republicans. the republicans have consistently put their plans in writing. the other thing that the administration is being so irresponsible about is saying, oh, if we have a default, it's going to crash the markets. we take in $200 billion a month in the united states. we can pay our priorities. >> tara almost fell off her chair. >> i did almost fall off my chair. i think that this is completely false what you're saying. first of all, the president did lay out a plan. he laid out a plan earlier this t year to cut the deficit and the debt $4 trillion over the course of 12 years. when that plan didn't move forward, he showed willingness to compromise again and put forth a plan $4 trillion over ten years. that was a mix of spending cuts. many of those spending cuts his base is not very happy about and tax increases on the wealthiest

americans and corporations. we saw some corporations google i think only paid 3% in federal taxes. so we're talking about leveling the playing field and not shifting the burden completely on the middle class and the working poor who have suffered enough in this economy. >> let me just say one last thing. it's such a fallacy to say that the administration has their plan out. the president never put a plan in writing. the democrats have not had a plan go through the senate budget committee over 800 days. i went to the white house website under pending legislation, bills that the president would sign, there's not a deficit reduction plan there, there's not one on the white house website. the democrats continue to demagogue the issue --. >> that is exactly my point, thomas, why haven't the democrats who are in the majority in the united states senate, why haven't they intro tusd a plan? why? because they'd rather attack republicans. rips have put flthree plans in writing. >> and the public has summarily

rejected those three plans. the ryan plan would eliminate 700,000 jobs in the middle of a jobs crisis that we're having. the tea party plan has no specifics in it. the president absolutely laid out a plan, $4 trillion. the republicans were attacking the plan. >> answer my question. where is his $4 trillion plan. >> i'll tell you what's in the plan. >> no. show me a website. >> i don't have it with me right no now. >> there's nothing on the white house website, there's nothing in harry reid -- the majority leader's. >> e-mail the president's office, e-mail the white house, you'll get the plan. the media has the plan. >> the media doesn't have the plan. >> yes. >> that's absolutely -- >> at the beginning of the year the president laid out a budget to cut the deficit by $4 trillion over 12 years and he was told that ryan and all the republicans attacked it. they were on the television attacking it all the time. so if there was no plan, what were they attacking. >> the truth of the matter is the congressional budget office said as recently as last month that they can not score a speech. it was no plan, it was president

obama's speech. >> i've got to go with my plan which is to read this tease. thanks for coming on, i appreciate your time. 2012 contender michele bachmann is facing questions that might affect her carbon monoxide pain and possible presidency, but they have nothing to do with politics. and when are we all going to get a break in the dangerous heat wave that's cooking most of the country? we'll take a look at that and much more right after this. as a manager, my team counts on me to stay focused.

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i'd like to be abundantly clear. my ability to function effectively will not affect my ability to serve as commander in chief. >> this story gained some traction after anonymous bachman aides detailed years of migraines to the conservative website, the daily caller. the search is on near the dangerous 300-foot tall water fall in yosemite national park for at least three missing hikers. we'll bring you up to speed on that search. and rupert murdoch, you know he has made billions off the tabloid culture and has become a fixture of the very industry he helped to create. we'll look at how this feeding frenzy culture impacts tradit n traditional journalism. ase3)x3a major medical. ...but it helps pay the doctors. pays the doctors, boyyy! [ quack ] oh yeah? what about your family? ♪ we added aflac, so we get cash! it's like our safety net... ♪ to help with the mortgage or whatever we need!

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i'm thomas roberts, here's what's topping the news now. at least 13 deaths are blamed on this week's high temperatures and humidity. roads are buckling and utility companies are strained to their limits. they are now asking customers to cut back on air conditioning and this unbearable heat is

widespread. 32 states and washington, d.c., are under a heat advisory. so when can we all expect some relief? let's go to the weather channel's jen carfagno who joins us with more. when can we expect something cooler in sight? >> it is not in the short term. look at what we have behind me? we have the heat advisories in effect for 32 plus the d.c. area, extreme heat still going on today across the heartland and it's spreading. it's spreading to the big cities. we've got 141 million people now who are going to feel this heat wave. when it comes to a break, we are still in the heat today. minneapolis had a very humid day yesterday with our highest dew point on record, 82. we're going to get a break, a slight break, with some relief coming in with a front today so today will be our last day of this really bad oppressive heat but we don't get a big break until next week. big ole high pressure is building across the country. today, tomorrow and right into the weekend it's going to be hot here into the northeast. new england, get ready for it as we kick off your weekend. >> jen, thanks so much, appreciate it. soit looks like a longer

summer is in for students in memphis, tennessee, this year. >> we might be talking about giving up the whole year, y'all. if we're serious. >> and they are serious. the school board voted to indefinitely delay the start of class because of a dispute over money with the city government. memphis city schools say the government owes them millions of dollars in tax revenue. going back over several years, and that they have given the city council every opportunity to pay the money, which is owed to those schools. a search and rescue operation continues in california today for at least one hiker who was reportedly swept over a water fall in yosemite national park. eyewitnesses saw at least one person tumble beyond a ra railed-off enclosure. that area is currently closed. authorities say it's not clear whether more than one person went over those falls. so what exactly did rupert murdoch know about the hacking, the bribery and the blackmail at his newspapers?

apparently not much, if you were watching yesterday. here's what the elderly media mogul told british lawmakers when they grilled him about it yesterday. >> did you or anyone else at your organization investigate this at the time? >> no. >> can you explain why? >> i didn't know of it. >> so despite the fact that blackmail can result in a 14-year prison sentence, nobody in your u.k. company brought this fact to your attention? >> the blackmail charge, no. >> do you think that might be because they knew you would think nothing of it? >> no. i can't answer, i don't know. >> all right, so who's to blame for this tangled media web and what are the true repercussions? joining me now is msnbc contributor melissa harris perry, a professor of political science at tulane as well as a

columnist for "the nation." it's great to have you on this morning. this really is a tangled and messy web. i want to prove that to everybody because those involved include key players in murdoch's media empire. so from the outside looking in, and especially after watching what went down yesterday, what does this tell you about how we can truly get to the bottom of this? >> it's interesting, i think about our own founder, thomas jefferson, saying that if he had a choice between government without newspapers or newspapers without government, he wouldn't hesitate to choose the latter. in other words, actually thinking of an independent media as more important to our well-being even than a quality government. and so when you look at this and you see that not only is media not independent, but government here clearly is not either, nor law enforcement. you know, when i teach this, i kind of show here are the people, here's the government and here are the media in between filtering information back and forth. but clearly that is not what is happening here. and that intersection between them and the relationships and

the profit-driven nature of it should make all of us very concerned about both the health of our media and the health of our government. >> when we look at this, it's such an epic failure, such an epic violation between police, print journalists as well as politicians. however, in the u.k. tabloid gossip is truly a blood sport, something we may not even be able to comprehend here in the united states, if we think it's bad here. it's really bad across the pond. many in america when we do talk about it, we see it as just a guilty pleasure. but when it comes to fueling the public's appetite, which comes first, the chicken or the egg? >> i know this is still contained as sort of a british issue across the pond, but the fact is this is a news organization whose holdings are global and so we should be paying attention to it on this side as well. in particular this question about our appetite for the salacious. you know, the idea that we think it's just no big deal to kind of

read about the celebrities or read about the royals when you're standing in line at the grocery store. but the fact is, that if those are the profit-drivers, if that's what actually makes the money, then there is this constant amping up to get more and more details, more and more intimate facts that can't otherwise be found. and nobody is letting them off the hook here. i'm not trying to let them off the hook. but i am saying that our appetites as consumers are also implicated in this. >> it all needs to be reviewed. melissa harris perry, great to see you, thanks. congressional leaders and white house officials are sending a similar message that the u.s. will not default. but until a deal is actually reached, the fear of what will happen if we don't raise the debt ceiling lingers for every american. robert is a professor of public policy at the university of california at berkeley, the former labor secretary for the clinton administration and the author of "aftershock, the next economy and america's future." it's great to have you on this

morning. so there are immediate problems if we default. they show $23 billion in social security benefits and only takes in $12 billion in revenue. so explain to all of us for people watching who get social security, also the vets out there that are expecting their checks and for their family members, how worried should they be? >> this is much more serious than a government shutdown. this essentially means the government has no money. it cannot make payments on social security, on medicare, on veterans benefits. it cannot pay government workers. it can't even pay the troops. and it cannot pay, most importantly i think with regard to the overall economy, it cannot pay the creditors all over the world that have lent the united states money in the form of treasury bills. there are a lot of americans who put their savings into treasury bills as well.

the immediate effect on august 3rd, thomas, will be a dramatic increase in interest rates. if it doesn't happen before then. and that means that we're going to have to pay more for all the money we borrow. >> professor, i want to play a piece of a radio address from president reagan talking about default back in 1987. take a listen. >> congress consistently brings the government to the edge of default before facing its responsibility. this brinksmanship threatens the holders of government bonds and those who rely on social security and veteran benefits. interest rates would skyrocket. instability would occur in financial markets, and the federal deficit would soar. the united states has a special responsibility to itself and the world to meet its obligations. >> all right. so there we have it. president reagan tying this up in a nutshell. for current day republican that say evoke president reagan's name so much, why don't republicans listen to that message from the icon that they

have in ronald reagan and move off of some of the far right rhetoric that we've been hearing over the last weeks and months? >> i think largely, thomas, because this is a giant game of chicken. republicans are trying to put maximum pressure on the president and on democrats to come up with the kind of budget deficit deal that the republicans want. and that pressure looks like it's beginning to pay off a little bit because as we get closer to the deadline, the president is agreeing to the kinds of budget with no major tax increases on the wealthy that the republicans have been calling for all along. now, there are a few republicans out there, and i don't know how many, but i've heard them even last night, congressman i think his name is brooks, michele bachmann certainly, who actually don't believe that a vote against raising the deficit is going to cause much of a problem. i don't know where they're getting their information from. i think they exist on another planet. and they worry me. it's one thing to have kind of a

tactical game plan. it's not great to play chicken, it's a problem certainly for the country. but if you don't believe in reality, then you really are a threat to the nation. >> right now, though, on capitol hill, sir, members of the congressional black, hispanic and asian caucus are holding a news conference. there's a peek at it on how default will affect minorities. will those communities be hurt the most in your estimation? >> i don't think they'll be hurt the most. everybody is going to be hurt. certainly a lot of black, hispanic and minority communities simply because of the way the economy is organized, you've got a lot of people who are unemployed, disproportion natalerpgportion e disproportionately. unemployment checks that can't go out will hurt them certainly, but it's going to hurt everybody. in fact it's not even thinkable. it used to be more or less a technical fix. nobody, nobody seriously ever believed that the united states would not act in full faith and credit and deliver on all its

obligations. in fact most credit markets today, thomas, don't believe it. that's why the rate, the interest rate on the 30-year treasury bill has not shot up. but it may any time now. >> professor robert reich. sir, it's great to see you today. thanks for your time this morning. >> thanks, thomas. while the stand-off continues on capitol hill, around the nation governors have reached across the aisle to pass timely budget and also tackle issues. andrew cuomo signed the first on-time budget and cut spending. indiana governor mitch daniels ended the year with a $1 billion surplus. and new jersey governor chris christie reformed the state pension system while shaving $1.3 billion off the budget. so the big question, why can't congress really get its act together? joining me now is vermont governor who has his own tales to tell. sir, it's great to have you on today because in your state as governor you signed a bill

putting vermont on track to become the only state with a single payer health care system. in your estimation, how do you explain the achievement gap between the states and what all of us are witnessing in washington? >> you know, i guess i'm as perplexed as the rest of the governors that just met together out in utah. we sit there and go we have to get real things done. we have to balance budgets, make tough choices and put our states on the road to recovery. here in vermont we have an unemployment rate that's not as scary as other parts of the country, we're down to 4.5% -- pardon me, 4%. but we have many vermonters who aren't making enough money. they're making the same money on average they were making ten years ago. so what we've done up here is do what the american people want, which is common sense, good judgment, bringing people together to get real solutions to problems. we have passed a single payer health care system as part of our effort to raise incomes of vermonters and make this a more

business-friendly state by simply saying this. if we can be the first state in the country where health care is a right and not a privilege, where health care follows the individual, which is what the rest of the world does, by the way, and is not required by the employer, that's a huge jobs creator, because we know as business people, i'm a small businessperson, that one of our biggest burdens is keeping up with the rising cost of health insurance. we're all paying more and more money for less and less coverage. so it's one of the three parts of our plan that we think is going to create jobs and economic prosperity for vermonters. >> you bring up a great important point about credit and the credit analyst, moody's is warning there are five states in danger of losing their top rated aaa rating. on the list of possible downgrades is maryland, new mexico, virginia, tennessee, south carolina. your state, though, not on this list. how do you keep vermont from relying too heavily on federal revenue in the future? >> well, one of the things we do in vermont is pay our bills and insist that we don't take on debt we can't pay.

we have a aaa credit rating and are in great shape there. when you see what's happening to maryland and the other five states, the result of this partisan bickering in congress, this right-wing agenda of the tea party that wants to literally sink our economic recovery, it makes all governors, democrats and republicans, go listen, what's going on down there, this makes no sense. yes, vermont is in good shape in that regard. but when you see other states that are in pretty good shape being threatened by this inaction, by this inability to get things done in washington, it makes all governors, democrats, republicans, it doesn't matter what party you are go hey, come on now, get it together down there. this is not how we do things in america and this is not what americans want. i think the most important point is this. you know, americans really don't care that much about democrat, republican, independent, about party politics. they want results. they want to know why they don't have a job. they want to know why their paycheck isn't going up. we have an opportunity for economic prosperity in america, but not if democracy can't work.

and that's what this tea party crowd is proving, democracy does not work when you have a political agenda that you're pushing over what's good for american people. >> governor peter shumlin of vermont, thank for your time. >> thanks for having me. >> absolutely. big news, nearly 3500 people in new york have requested licenses for same-sex weddings. that's now that it's legal. one of the first two to make it to the altar will join me live in studio. we'll have information about who's going to officiate at their ceremony. it's a big, important person. there's a good hint right there, the mayor himself, mike bloomberg. we'll talk to the couple about what this milestone means to them right after this. [ male an] introducing mio. a revolutionary water enhancer. add a little...add a lot. for a drink that's just the way you like it. make it yours. make it mio. with listerine® whitening plus restoring rinse. it's the only listerine® that gets teeth two shades whiter

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welcome back, everybody. big news, because this weekend same-sex marriage becomes legal in new york state. a mad rush is on for those looking to tie the knot. the new york mayor announced a lottery to give hundreds of couples, both gay and straight,

the chance to get married in one of the clerk's five offices on sunday. among the first in line is the mayor's chief policy adviser. his fiance. great to have you on today. let's talk about this because this is really big. the headline of your story, not only do you work for the bloomberg administration, but the mayor came to you guys and said i would like to be the officiate of our ceremony. explain how that came to be. >> in the bullpen where the mayor works, i don't sit very far from him. he get up and sort of motioned to me and said let's talk. we went up and got a cup of coffee which is right there basically in the middle of everybody's desks. he said i don't know what you and jonathan are planning to do and whether you want to get married, but if you do, i'd like to do it. >> no pressure, right? >> right, no pressure. no pressure, whatsoever. >> and so he came and proposed

that to you? >> unilateral decision-making is very attractive in a couple but i thought in matters of marriage you actually had to consult your partner, so i did. >> on this, i think you guys will be modern-day heroes to anybody who's had to plan a wedding because jonathan, you've only had 17 days to pull this off. we are talking about this sunday, the 24th, you guys will be married. a lot of people would debate, oh, well, you got an easy place to do it. still, pulling it off is pretty demanding. >> right. >> so how have you been handling the stress of this? >> reminding ourselves why we're doing it which is first and foremost for our kids. and that's exciting, and they're very excited. we have two daughters, age 8 and 6. and seeing it through their eyes has been helpful. that having been said, you still have to make those decisions, who's your photographer, who are you going to serve. >> is aunt

>> and they tasted twice in fact the desserts so they were up to snuff for them. it's been wonderful for them to participate in it. in so many ways for them this is a lesson about what america really stands for. what new york really stands for. we're a nation that stands for freedom. >> you've been together for 14 years. you have two little girls. did you ever think that a day like this would be possible for you guys? >> we came close last year. it's something we've been waiting for. we wanted to do it in our home state. we wanted to show our girls that you didn't need to pack up your bags to do something as wonderful as getting married. we have been waiting for new york to do it. we're really thrilled. the other thing i want to say that's happening that's incredible it seems like everybody is buying new dresses and suits to come.

it's a great boost for the economy for our wedding alone. and we're looking forward to it. >> we wish you the best of luck. we'll expect to see some pictures from you guys to share them with everybody. again 17 days, boy, oh, boy. just the planning alone. >> you know it's going to be a bestseller. >> thanks so much. we're going to be right back with much more. this is msnbc. just one phillips' colon health probiotic cap a day helps defends against occasional constipation, diarrhea, gas and bloating.

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welcome back. it's final for the flip side. our look behind the headlines. the shaving cream pie attack on rupert murdoch yesterday carries on a long and messy tradition of pie protest.

another mogul bill gates got it right in the face on a visit to belgium in 1998. he was the target of an anti-capitalist demonstrator who also ambushed french president nicolas sarkozy. public figures have been attacked by pie. the art of political pie throwing was honed by an activist in the '70s. his long list of targets concludes a conservative ie cob and watergate conspirators as well as andy warhol. pie may be passe. the late education craze is glitter bomb. who can forget gay rights activist dumping a bag of glitter on newt gingrich and his wife. then michele bachmann and tim pawlenty got their own glitter treatment last month as well. it's a little fancier than pie in the face. that's going to do it for me.

thanks for your time. follow me on twitter. con taetessa brewer is here. we're talking about back to school era. everybody is shopping for new clothes for school. in one place they say there will be no school unless officials say the money they say the government owes them for classes. >> kids will rejoice. michele bachmann is new headache for her in her run to the white house. could it really keep her in the oval office. that and much uh-oh. more ahead that and much uh-oh. more ahead msnbc. prices hotels and airlines won't let expedia show separately. book it.

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rchts good wepz, everybody. i'm contessa brewer covering the big news coast to coast. the big story right now the phone hacking scandal in great britain reaches the highest echelons of government. with prime minister david cameron facing cheers and jeers in an uncommon